


Ancient

by saltylikecrait



Series: Follows Soft the Sun [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Engagement, F/M, Family Planning, Force-Sensitive Finn, Politics, Prince Finn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-20
Updated: 2018-07-20
Packaged: 2019-06-13 04:30:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15356289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltylikecrait/pseuds/saltylikecrait
Summary: “I suppose,” Luke begins, “some congratulations are in order.”





	Ancient

Finn sits in his office, waiting as patiently as he can in this situation for his guest to arrive. The tapping of his fingers against the dark wood of his desk suggests otherwise.

A lot has been on his mind since the day that Rey accepted his proposal. The first two weeks were full of celebration and giddiness had overtook the prince. After two years of dating, he was positive that Rey was the one for him and his parents were supportive of their marriage, even if there was some disapproval from relatives, local politicians, and the press. There is no law against marrying a _commoner,_ as some have called her – his own mother had been an average political science student when she met her husband-to-be, after all – but Rey takes the backlash in stride, saying that once they married, the loudness would die down.

He has faith in Rey’s judgement and he wonders if she consulted her adopted mother and father on the matter. Leia and Han had a lot of support when they married, but there were a few people that believed that a princess, even one that no longer had a queendom, was too good for a former smuggler.

But thinking of the Organa-Solos reminds him of why he is having this meeting. He knew about their struggles as a couple and as-

A knock on the door breaks him out of his thoughts.

“Come in,” he calls.

Master Skywalker enters the room. Even in his simple Jedi clothes and humble appearance, his manner and expression shows his comfort in the palace. He’s been here plenty of times and he knows exactly where Prince Finn’s office is located in the palace.

“Good afternoon, Master Skywalker.”

“Good afternoon, Your Highness,” Luke returns. Even though they have known each other for years, he insists that a sense of formality be kept between them. Finn is a prince and unfortunately not one of Luke’s students. He comes to give the prince advice on his Force abilities and the counsel him on matters that the scholars and professionals could not offer. The Jedi have a duty to serve the galaxy and recognize the sovereignty of individual worlds and systems. Referring to Finn by his title, recognizes that sovereignty.

“I suppose,” Luke begins, “some congratulations are in order.”

Finn smiles and mouths a _thank you_ to his mentor before clearing his throat. 

“I… uh… well, actually, I kinda wanted to talk to you about that… err… what my marriage means for the future.”

“Oh?” Luke quirks an eyebrow.

With a deep breath, Finn decides that it’s better to let it out instead of stalling. He has no idea why this is making him so nervous, actually.

“About our children… when we have them.”

“Are you already planning kids?” Luke seems a little surprised by this, but Finn holds up his hands and shakes his head.

“No- not right away. We want a few years before that comes around. We’re both young.” He hasn’t told Rey yet, but he often imagines them having two or three kids down the line. As an only child, he feels a little charmed by the idea of having siblings even though he was fully aware of the fighting that some of his friends had with theirs. It’ll really be up to Rey, since she’ll be the one carrying the children and he knows how exhausting pregnancy can be. When she says she’s had enough, even if it’s after their first, then that will be enough for Finn, too. They’re only required to have one child anyway, that’s the terms of a usual marriage to an heir to a kingdom and Rey knows this.

“What I really wanted to ask,” Finn continues, “is the likelihood of us having Force-sensitive children.”

Luke nods, understand the implications of the prince’s question. “It is more likely when at least one parent is Force-sensitive themselves, but not always. Some children are Force-sensitive when neither of their parents are.”

“It runs in my family,” says Finn. “I’ve looked through our genealogy. My parents are not, but my great-grandmother was and many of my other ancestors were. The records had to be hidden away during the time of the Empire.”

“Your grandparents didn’t want those records to be found,” Luke elaborated. “I know. It was common back then. The Empire had an anti-Jedi ideology and parents were afraid that their children could be targets.

“So to answer your question: yes. Your children have a great chance of being Force-sensitive.”

“Will you tell us what to look for, when the time comes? And will you help us figure out what to do if we are faced with a conflict of interests?”

Luke knew very well that there was a big issue at hand if the heir ended up being Force-sensitive. Finn did not find out about his own ability until later in life and he was an only child. That put him in a tricky position. There were no other teachers besides Luke that were available to teach Finn about the Force, nor was Finn allowed to be trained at Luke’s school. The heir could not be both a king and a Jedi; it simply would not work.

But many of Luke’s students were about to reach adulthood, and there was a good possibility that many of them would be interested in becoming teachers. Finn and Rey’s children had the real chance of getting the education that their parents did not.

Finn’s anxiety also stems from Rey’s struggles to gain control over her own Force abilities. After that particularly bad time involving the destruction of a garden trellis, Rey has sought the help of her adopted mother, learning a little more on how to control herself. The problem is that Leia was no substitute for an actual teacher like Luke. Rey still has outbursts from time to time, but nowhere as bad as that one particular incident.

“If that time comes, then yes, Your Highness, I will help you,” Luke agrees. “Though I may be a little too old to keep up with them by then.”

“You’re not that old now,” Finn points out.

“In any case, I will scope out potential candidates for a tutor. I may want to have a couple of my students think of the option of traveling from world to world to teach. Not Ben – he doesn’t have a lot of patience with the younglings – but maybe a few from my first graduating class.”

It came as a relief to Finn to hear that Master Skywalker understands the complexity of the situation. He hopes that whatever happened, their children will have an easier time with Force-sensitivity than either their parents.

“Thank you, Master Skywalker,” he sighs. “I appreciate it.”

* * *

It is well-known to the staff that whenever Master Skywalker is on-world to meet with the royal family that he likes to drink greenmint tea outside in the afternoon. The weather, for one, is much better than the frequent (and cold) rainfall that the world of his school experiences. He also likes to marvel at the new technology that Duuna is creating for agricultural means, which the gardens like to utilize or test. They are considered a pillar to the galaxy’s agriculture sector for a reason.

He happens to be in the same area that Rey is working in today and is both shocked and pleasantly surprised that even after her engagement she is still working. He wonders if she will be asked to step down from her job and also wonders if she will still be allowed to work in the gardens as a hobby after the wedding. She will have a new job to do once she is married to Finn. They will probably tour through Duuna and visit some New Republic hotspots to promote good relations. Then she will also be expected to attend other events such as charity fundraisers when she gets more settled into her new role.

Finn is also in a tricky spot. Duuna allows their royal family to have influence in politics but also expects them to stay neutral in New Republic affairs. A balance between the ancient and the new, so to speak. The prince is pushing that line by trying to establish an intergalactic children’s relief fund and charity. Many politicians and figureheads within the New Republic are supporting him, impressed that someone so young could conceive this idea on his own, but there are also many others that also feel like Finn is getting out of line.

Luke notes from what he read in the holo news articles that the worlds against Finn’s involvement are worlds that try to hide their own poverty problems. The New Republic has certain laws on the rights of sentient beings, but once again, there is a fine line between intergalactic affairs and local sovereignty. If Finn’s charity organization were to take aid to these poverty-stricken New Republic worlds, the New Republic will have to admit that they are not holding all of their members to their standards and the world in question will have to account for why poverty is such a problem in the first place for them. That is why so many Outer Rim worlds could join the New Republic: they simply are too poor and unimportant for the New Republic to care about.

Even though he is supposed to be a neutral party, Luke is secretly rooting for Finn to get his organization off the ground.

But, he is watching Rey, in awe of just how attentive she is to the tree saplings she is caring for. It’s like she instinctively knows what each tree needs and he notes how she seems to focus solely on the individual tree before planning what she needs to do.

And he realizes then, that she has been using the Force to help her understand the plants she cares for. It’s not unheard of for Force-users to use their abilities to tap into emotions and intents of others, it also is not unheard of for Force-users to use their abilities to better understand what their brain cannot. Plants and animals do not have the same ability to speak like other sentient beings, but the Force is an ancient matter that has tied every lifeform together in a way that does not require speech to be understood. He wonders if Rey has always had an instinctual, primal knowledge of the Force without realizing it herself.

She must sense his watchful gaze, as she turns her head and smiles at him, waving her hand in a friendly gesture before approaching his table.

“What brings you here?” she asks.

“Your fiancé wanted my opinion on some matters, so he invited me. I won’t be here long; I have to go back tomorrow.”

Her face falls. “That is a short trip.”

With a wave of his hand, Luke tries to convey that it’s not a big deal to him. He has to make short trips like this all the time and to worlds a lot farther away that Duuna, a Mid-Rim world. He genuinely wants to get to know this young woman that has been accepted into his family with open arms, but his duties as the only Jedi Master have kept him away.

“Leia wants us all to get together before your wedding, anyway. I expect we’ll all get a call from her in a few months.”

With a cringe, Rey says, “I hope she’s not going to end up being one of those hovering parents that wants to dictate the wedding.” Not that Rey really has a lot of say in her own wedding either. There is certain protocol and tradition that everyone in the royal family has to abide by. Rey doesn’t mind, per se, because she really doesn’t know much about weddings in the first place and having someone else plan it makes it so much easier.

“Oh no, not Leia,” Luke laughs. _“Han’s_ the one you should be worried about. He keeps sending me messages about how he doesn’t think it’s right for the bride or her family to not be very involved in the decision making.”

**Author's Note:**

> Bet you thought I forgot all about this AU, huh? Well, surprise! It's back. I've got a couple more installments to add and plan to have the big wedding posted on this site in December, ending this AU. In January, I'll start up a new AU for these two, though I haven't quite decided what it will be yet.


End file.
